[Rebecca's mom]

I didn't know if anyone might know where I can find an answer to my question. Recently, I have had a reaction to a couple of foods which I thought were gluten-free (I read the label and didn't see anything which set off warning bells). When I looked at the labels on these foods, there was an ingredient which I don't recall seeing on any other foods - Natamycin. Upon further investigation, I could find very little information on this product, especially the manner in which it is processed. It is apparently used as a mold inhibitor (I do know that I am allergic to mold........). The company which is listed is in China, so I sent them an e-mail, but I don't know what, if anything, will become of it.

Have you heard anything about this ingredient? I can't say for sure if it is causing a gluten reaction in me, because my "symptoms" aren't those of the typical celiac disease patient - I hardly ever get diarrhea or stomach upset. What I do get is itchy skin, the "fidgets", and bloating/weight gain. I noticed the itchy skin and the bloating over the past few days (I had only eaten one of the foods before yesterday, then ate both - then made the correlation).

One of the sites which I was directed to was Whole Foods Market, and they will not accept any foods in their stores which use natamycin, other than cheese slices (one of the 2 products which gave me problems - not bought at WFM, but at Sam's Club). I am not sure why they have this policy, so I have sent them an e-mail asking about that.

Any help that anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated! Obviously, I am not going to be eating either of these items again, but I am wondering if I need to worry about giving foods with this ingredient in it to my other family members with celiac disease / Gluten Sensitivity, or if this is just a coincidental allergic reaction on my part. Thank you so much -

[JNBunnie1]

It looks like a mold inhibitor:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natamycin

That's somehow grown by bacteria or soemthing? Sounds like it's not a gluten problem, but more likely your personal unpleasant reaction to a chemical. I get a bit of queasy from cheese with this in it if I eat a lot. Definitely not gluten though. I would doublecheck the cheeses you were eating to make sure there's no gluten problems aside from this ingredient though.

[jcbattle1]

Rebecca's mom, on Apr 25 2009, 09:51 AM, said:

I didn't know if anyone might know where I can find an answer to my question. Recently, I have had a reaction to a couple of foods which I thought were gluten-free (I read the label and didn't see anything which set off warning bells). When I looked at the labels on these foods, there was an ingredient which I don't recall seeing on any other foods - Natamycin. Upon further investigation, I could find very little information on this product, especially the manner in which it is processed. It is apparently used as a mold inhibitor (I do know that I am allergic to mold........). The company which is listed is in China, so I sent them an e-mail, but I don't know what, if anything, will become of it.

Have you heard anything about this ingredient? I can't say for sure if it is causing a gluten reaction in me, because my "symptoms" aren't those of the typical celiac disease patient - I hardly ever get diarrhea or stomach upset. What I do get is itchy skin, the "fidgets", and bloating/weight gain. I noticed the itchy skin and the bloating over the past few days (I had only eaten one of the foods before yesterday, then ate both - then made the correlation).

One of the sites which I was directed to was Whole Foods Market, and they will not accept any foods in their stores which use natamycin, other than cheese slices (one of the 2 products which gave me problems - not bought at WFM, but at Sam's Club). I am not sure why they have this policy, so I have sent them an e-mail asking about that.

Any help that anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated! Obviously, I am not going to be eating either of these items again, but I am wondering if I need to worry about giving foods with this ingredient in it to my other family members with celiac disease / Gluten Sensitivity, or if this is just a coincidental allergic reaction on my part. Thank you so much -

[aija]

I would like to reply to your post. I think it is not safe to say that natamycin is gluten free. I have had a reaction to feta cheese treated with natamycin two days in a row now. I did as much research as I could, and although the bacteria itself doesn't contain gluten, it is fermented, and I could not find out what is used to ferment the natamycin. Many aged cheeses use a wheat product in fermentation. One article I did read listed wheat as a possible ingredient in the fermentation process.
I, like you, have various other symptoms when encountering gluten. Just prior to finding out I had celiac, I did have chronic diarrhea and vomiting. Now, however, when I run across a smaller amount of gluten I am prone to the DH rash, extreme irritability, and headaches as well as stomach pain if I get a larger dose. I will not be eating anything containing natamycin in the future.